Rodents have plagued mankind for centuries bringing disease and pestilance into major population centers and further competing directly with mankind for foodstuffs either by direct consumption or by fouling the stored material with their droppings, dirt, and parasites.
There have been many solutions proposed in the past to control and reduce the rodent population, and the most effective procedure to date has been the use of poisoned bait. The technique employed by users of poisoned baits is to place the bait in an area infested by rodents, particularly along runways and in dark isolated areas which the rodents seem to favor. The rodents are attracted to the food which is impregnated or mixed with the rodentcide. The poison is ingested by the rodents and causes their demise.
Some of the prior art devices which have been developed to contain and deliver the rodentcide are characterized by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,965,609; 2,964,871; 2,944,364; 2,683,326; and 2,912,788.
These devices are defective for the following reasons: they are bulky, cumbersome, fragile, susceptible to rupture and spillage of the contents, and present a potential health hazard to children and domestic animals. Most of the devices are, furthermore, intended as a single use item, and are not intended nor designed to be refilled. The devices which are intended for reuse usually require that the device be disassembled in order to replenish the supply. This procedure is time consuming, messy, and usually involves some spillage of the poison, which must be cleaned up for obvious health reasons.
On a whole the prior art devices do not provide a bait station which will be readily and regularly used by the consumer thereby reducing their effectiveness and allowing the rodent population to proliferate.